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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468190">fools for love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valleyflower/pseuds/Valleyflower'>Valleyflower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Angel: the Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crushes, Episode: s05e05 Life of the Party, Multi, No Angst, POV Spike (BtVS)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:07:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468190</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valleyflower/pseuds/Valleyflower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Spike was having the absolute best time of his life. The music was amazing, the atmosphere was electric, and he had just found something new to tease Angel about.<br/>---<br/>Angel and Lorne are both in love, and both very awkward. It's the Halloween party night. Chaos ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Angel (BtVS)/Lorne | Krevlornswath, Winifred "Fred" Burkle/Wesley Wyndam-Pryce</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fools for love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this seemed like the best kind of thing to write around valentine's: tooth rotting fluff, with a side of funny times from spike. enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Spike was having the absolute best time of his life. The music was amazing, the atmosphere was electric, and he had just found something new to tease Angel about. Since he didn't have much to do around Evil Incorporated, he'd taken on people(and demon) watching as a hobby. Always paid to have a bit of blackmail material on everyone, just in case, he rationalised. Dropping in on the break rooms was fun, as was phasing into the wall behind the water cooler, but the most fun was found lurking around the poof's nearest and dearest. Wes seemed to be awkwardly yearning after Fred, and his passive-aggressive, quiet way of dealing with it was so painfully English that it even made Spike wince. Fred currently had eyes for her assistant, Knox(he swore he recognised him from somewhere), but that chemistry looked about as shallow as a paddling pool. Spike predicted it would last three dates at most. Charlie-boy was single and seemed perfectly fine with it, so that one was boring. However, the main event that Spike had picked up on was </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>than enough to make up for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He'd first realised that something was going on when…well, when he saw That Look. A longing gaze, quickly averted whenever Tall, Dark and Oblivious turned around. He noticed other things after that, a subtle scowl whenever the latest damsel in distress tried to flirt, lighting up brighter than the sun for a second whenever a chance for a two-person trip came up. At first, Spike had just thought it was a one-sided affair like the hopeless Watcher. But over the last few weeks, some other things had fell into place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casual touches that neither even noticed, automatically relaxing around each other. Not objecting to having his desk used as a temporary seat, even though there were plenty of chairs in the office. Glaring at Spike for calling him Peaches, but seeming perfectly fine with the much more emasculating Angelcakes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And finally, Spike had seen an almost exact mirror copy of That Look that sealed the deal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Fred! Percy!" he grinned at the two, who both looked incredibly drunk. "You wanna hear somethin' fun about your boss?" Fred looked interested and dragged Wesley over with her. "Hiii Spike! What is it? We're very, very, very good at keeping secrets, aren't we Wes?" The watcher nodded rapidly, trying to look serious and failing. "Very." Spike grinned at the two and then pointed at Angel, who was standing against a wall and looking uncomfortable. "Peaches…has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>massive </span>
  </em>
  <span>crush on someone." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fred gasped. "Ooh! Who is it? Do we know them? Are they here? I wanna set them up! I'm gonna be the best wing-woman ever!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll give you three guesses."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it…that werewolf, Nina? She's pretty." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Two guesses left."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it…Eve? She's really annoying but that </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>make Angel not-happy and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>like that…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One guess left!" Spike grinned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it…hey!" Fred was cut off by Wesley prodding her to get her attention. She glared at him, but all annoyance was lost when she saw where he was pointing. Angel had his Sad and Longing face on, which was slightly different from his uncomfortable brooding face in that it made him look even more like a kicked puppy. He was looking at someone in the main party crowd. Wesley drew an imaginary line in the direction Angel was looking and followed it with his finger. It went past some pretty attractive humans, over a table of snacks, and landed firmly on Lorne. Fred gasped again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Bingo!" Spike confirmed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh my goodness! Angel's lovely…and Lorne's lovely…this is amazing!" Fred suddenly looked sad. "But what if it's only one of them?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wesley had stopped pointing, but was still staring between the two. In a break from the seemingly infinite small talk, he saw Lorne glance over to where Angel was lurking with almost the exact same expression that the vampire was still wearing. Chocolate and cherry eyes met, and the two quickly turned away with equally matching blushes. Wes giggled and Fred turned to him, still looking sad. Her expression brightened as Wes stage-whispered what he'd just seen to her. "Oh my goodness!" she nearly squealed again. "This is more adorable than kittens! No, puppies! No, kittens </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>puppies combined!" Then she paused to consider that and added, "Actually, that would be a complete genetic disaster, so scrap that. Jeez, I must be so drunk! Hey, Wes? Wes? Wessssssss!" The Watcher, who'd become distracted by watching a ceiling light flicker, snapped out of it and looked over. "Wha?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How much have we had to drink?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Um…" He looked at the drink he was holding, then at Fred's. "Less than a drink apiece. Something…is off. Let's think about it! We're very, very good at thinking."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Very. And keeping secrets."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're very good at that too." They smiled at each other before Wesley put on his Thinking Face. "So. We were talking to Spike. Did you do anything weird?" Spike shook his head, still watching the very subtle Peaches and Karaoke Boy romantic drama, so Wesley continued. "And before that, we were on the dance floor. And before that, we talked to Gunn." He giggled at the memory, but quickly got back on topic. "And </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>that, we were at the drinks table and Not Having Fun and then Lorne came over and told us that…getting drunk would help. And after that we were drunk!" Wesley was slowly putting two and two together, but he realised that the other two weren't listening anymore. He decided to see what they were looking at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eve was talking to Angel, twirling her hair and getting oddly close. Angel looked annoyed, his replies accompanied with a sigh. Lorne's flitting around the party had just led him to that corner, and he spotted Angel and Eve. Raw, open hurt flashed on his face("Oh nooo.." Fred whispered sadly,)before it was replaced with a glare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can feel the tension from half the room away! Why don't you two just get a room already?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To all three of the stealth audience members' surprise, Eve and Angel stumbled into Angel's office, the door closing behind them, barely a few seconds after Lorne had moved on to other parts of the party. Spike could smell the stench of arousal from behind the door. Fred looked equally sad and confused. "What are they doing? Angel likes Lorne, not Eve!" Spike, for once, didn't have a snarky answer. "No idea, luv. Certainly doesn't smell safe for work…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wesley had his Eureka face on. "I think I've got it! Lorne is doing some kind of subconscious magic that makes us do what he tells us to do! He told us to get drunk, and now we are! He told Gunn to mark his territory, and he…" he broke off into giggles, so Fred continued. "He told you to be happier, Spike, and you are! And he just told Angel and Eve that, so now they're…doing it!" The watcher nodded, recovered from his giggling fit. "We need to stop him from doing that. Before something goes very, very wrong."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Even more wrong than Eve and Angel?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, even more wrong than </span>
  <em>
    <span>that." </span>
  </em>
  <span>Wes sounded very serious. "Spike, you help us to..oh." Spike waved his arm through a nearby table to demonstrate exactly how much use he was. Looking a bit put out, Wes continued, "We're going to find out what's going on and stop it and then we're going to laugh at Angel a bit." Looking very proud of his plan, Wes started making his way through the party to get to Lorne, Fred not far behind. Spike decided to simply spectate for now. He had a feeling this was about to get interesting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Spike followed the four people at the party that he knew best into the office. Wesley and Gunn were dragging Lorne along with them(the demon was protesting that he had a party to supervise, and a good Host is always in the thick of things) and Fred was following, a look of dread on her face as she remembered quite what was in said office. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Angel, there's something-</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" The watcher was cut off by the sight of the very naked Eve and Angel behind the couch. The two quickly noticed they had company, and Angel made a Very Manly squeaking noise as he quickly got a cushion to cover himself. Him and Eve exchanged a confused look. Lorne tried to back out of the room as quickly as possible, but Fred slammed the door shut with a very stern "No way, mister." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Something is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>wrong." Angel looked slightly disgusted at what…well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who </span>
  </em>
  <span>he'd just been doing, and the feeling seemed mutual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, that's my line!" Wes looked a bit put off, but gathered himself and continued, "Lorne is subconsciously controlling people." Lorne looked offended at the very suggestion, but Fred put a hand directly on his face and shushed him before picking up where Wes left off. "He told me 'n Wes to get drunk, and we are, and we haven't even drunk anything! And he told Spike to be happier, and he is! And he told Gunn to-" she giggled, as did Wesley, whilst Gunn looked very embarrassed, "he told Gunn to </span>
  <em>
    <span>mark his territory."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Angel looked relieved. "So…there's an explanation for this! Because I really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>did not want to do anything with Eve." Eve didn't even look offended. "I'm not saying it wasn't good, but I certainly wasn't planning on it. Ever. Ever ever." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wesley was busy trying to usher Gunn away from a potted plant, so Spike decided to continue the conversation. "So…the only question is, how the hell have you unlocked unconscious mind control powers?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wesley looked over from the plant and added, "Have you come into contact with any curses of abnormal artefacts lately, Lorne?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorne moved Fred's hand from where it still was on his face. "Erm…I don't think so? Entertainment doesn't exactly deal with the old dusty relics." Wesley was just putting his Intense Contemplation face on when the demon added, "Oh yeah, and I got my sleep removed. But so far that is-" He was cut off by at least four different voices. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?! Lorne, that can't be healthy…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Bloody hell, Evil Inc really does have it all!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That sounds bad. And strange. And not fun. I'm gonna hug you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Look, I haven't got much room to talk but that sounds like something to not be removed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'VE GOT IT!" Wesley screeched over the others, effectively silencing everyone. "If an empath demon is deprived of sleep, their power becomes erratic and begins to influence destinies instead of simply reading them. In severe cases, their subconscious can split into a separate entity that the empath demon cannot control, and will carry out actions that would usually be suppressed." Lorne paled significantly at the part about the subconscious. Angel noticed and tilted his head in a silent question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, how do I make that not happen? Because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don't think anyone wants to see that subconscious. Yknow…Pylean." a nervous-sounding Lorne elaborated to Angel. Much more quietly, he added, "The urge to impale enemies never really goes away…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The penny dropped at around the same time for everyone. Spike summarised it best. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, shit."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything had somehow worked out. Through sheer luck, the Archduke considered a murder the ideal spice for a party. Fred and Wes were now sober and awkward again, Gunn had left as quickly as possible after he was sure the…compulsion was gone, and Eve had cleared off too. Only three people were left in the office: Lorne, passed out on the sofa with a jacket as a blanket, a shiny bruise still forming on his head where his own subconscious had beat him up. Angel, watching quietly as he had a tendency to do, looking very concerned and more than a bit regretful. And Spike, sat on the desk, swinging legs phasing in and out of the wood. He intended to get at least one more good jab in before he left the most awkward lovebirds of the century alone, but he was waiting for Angel to ask first. The wait created maximum annoyance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, his grandsire looked over. "Why are you still here, Spike?" he asked quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other vampire grinned. "Peaches has a cru-ush…" he sing-songed in reply. Angel blushed beet-red and sputtered, "No I don't! I didn't even </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do anything with Eve, that was a spell! It doesn't count!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spike sighed. It was no fun teasing him when he was this bloody oblivious. "I didn't mean on her, you big ponce. I know that. I meant on Karaoke Boy there." he pointed to Lorne, who was still dead to the world. Angel somehow managed to blush a whole new shade of red. "I- I'm not- is it really that obvious?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You've been looking at him like Cupid hit you with a bloody rocket launcher for </span>
  <em>
    <span>weeks</span>
  </em>
  <span>." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...oh." Angel looked dejected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spike didn't know why, but he had a sudden urge to actually be nice, for once. "And he's been looking at you the exact same way for even longer."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pure, overjoyed shock on Angel's face was enough to make Spike wish that he had a camera to capture it. His idiot grandsire had fallen for someone as fast as a lead balloon, </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But, for once, there wasn't some love triangle, or lifespan-related angst, or martyr complex in the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And what could he say? He'd always been a fool for love. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do something about it, Peaches. The constant love-lorn moping isn't a good look on you." Spike got up, brushed off his duster, and allowed himself one final grin. "Also, I told Fred and Wes about it, so if you don't do something they definitely will! See you later!" And before Angel could register what he'd just heard, Spike was out the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tomorrow was going to be…odd,for sure. And Angel had no idea what the consequences of long-term sleep deprivation would be. But those were problems for the morning. For now, he made himself comfortable in the chair next to the sofa and started quietly humming a tune. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can't help…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Falling in love</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>With</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and that is that! if you enjoyed, please leave a kudos and/or comment! any comment will make my day :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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